Merrin Dungey

In a bizarre alternate reality, your favorite TV character may have been played by somebody else. Recasting is a fact of life for shows, most of it happens during the time between the pilot episode is shot and the series goes to air.

Fran Kranz (pictured, left), known for his role on Joss Whedon's 'Dollhouse,' has been removed from NBC's new series 'Friends With Benefits.' Kranz appears quite extensively in the promotional trailer from NBC, but tweeted about being fired. Ian Reed Kesler was also given the boot from the Ryan Hansen-fronted 'Friends With Benefits.' Other exiled stars from this year's pilot season include Joely Richardson

In honor -- or mourning -- of the recasts that will take place from now until the fall 2010 season officially kicks off, here's a look back at best friends that never were.

Where have I seen her before? The answer: everywhere. Here are eight of the hardest working character actresses on TV. Inspired by Eight Character Actors You Need to Know in Details, we present two quartets of women whose faces, at least, are familiar. After reading this, you won't be excused from calling any of them "Oh, her!"

Alison Brie – Classically trained at CalArts and still in her 20s, Brie specializes in "uptight and highly strung." She plays the prim Annie on 'Community,' but might forever be known as the sensible wife Pete Campbell doesn't deserve on ''Mad Men'.

Like a true character actor, Brie knows that the physicality of her roles is what helps her distinguish between the two. "Trudy has a different walk, she has a different voice. Annie carries herself differently, walks faster, does some things higher pitched, you know," she told TV Squad earlier this year.

'Ghost Whisperer's' Jamie Kennedy will guest on an upcoming episode of 'Eureka' season 4. Kennedy will play Dr. Ramsey in the episode, who develops an oxygen technology that leaks into the Eureka atmosphere and threatens to destroy the entire town. The episode airs Fri., July 30 on Syfy. [SciFi Wire]

This is Spoilers Anonymous, a weekly column here at TV Squad where we supply you with the dirt on some of the more popular shows on the air. We'll never put spoilers up here on the main page in order to help the reformed stay unspoiled. If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad at gmail dot com, or call and leave a message at (775) 640-8479. Your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such.

Technically, Private Practice aired its first episode within the Grey's Anatomy 2-hour long "The Other Side of This Life," which aired last May. After the episode aired, most of the fans were quite vocal about their hate (or disappointment) towards the Addison spin-off. ABC, probably knowing that part of the pilot's failure was due to the fact it aired within a Grey's episode and that the spin-off could do better on its own, decided to pick up the series and ordered 13 episodes.

Now that the first official episode of the series aired, we can properly review, analyze, and critique Private Practice and decide if we hate it or not.

Here's one of the big problems with airing your "pilot" episode as part of the run of the series from which it spins off: if you decide to make any cast changes, those changes will be pretty obvious.

Case in point: The millions of people who watched the Private Practice spin-off episode of Grey's Anatomy saw Merrin Dungey playing Dr. Naomi Bennett, the friend and fertility expert that Addison Montgomery visited in L.A. because she was looking to have a baby. However, come fall, Dr. Bennett will be played by noted Broadway actress Audra McDonald (pictured), according to the Show Tracker blog on the LA Times' web site. There was no word on why the role was recast.

(S09E12 / S09E13) Last month, I wrote a post praising The King of Queens for not making their 200th episode into any kind of "special" episode, just doing the same goofy but funny comedy the show has always done. There was no character development, no great revelations, no massive earth-shattering changes, and no story arcs. I expected them to do the same for the finale; just show another day in the life of the Heffernans and fade to black.

We got none of that; in fact, everything I listed above was exactly what we got, not only in this one-hour finale, but the two episodes before that. Drama isn't this show's strong suit, and it made for a finale that was wildly out of character in comparison with the rest of the series.

The Grey's Anatomy boards and blogs, and even some of our articles here at TV Squad, have been experiencing a surge in negative comments and posts. Those comments are directed at solely one thing: the potential spin-off featuring the character of Addison.

Why are fans so unhappy with the end result? Will fan comments have ABC not pick up Private Practice?

Less than two weeks ago, we pondered if the spin-off would be better than Grey's Anatomy based on the information and spoilers that had leaked so far. Now that the two Grey's Anatomy's episodes serving to launch the potential spin-off have aired, it is time to revisit our "Grey's Anatomy vs. the spin-off" article and reflect on if we were right or not and decide what series is better based on what aired last night.

TV Guide Online's Michael Ausiello is reporting that Merrin Dungey (Alias, The King of Queens) and Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy) have been cast in the Grey's Anatomy spin-off. They will both appear in episodes 3.22 and 3.23 of Grey's. These episodes will serve as the pilot for this potential spin-off revolving around Kate Walsh's character, Addison.

It is unknown if Dungey and Brenneman will play main characters in the spin-off or if they will just appear in the two-hour special. Other actors appearing in the two-hour special are: Chris Lowell (Veronica Mars), Tim Daly (The Nine), Paul Adelstein (Prison Break), and Taye Diggs (Day Break).

If you like science fiction, and Battlestar Galactica, Doctor Who, Stargate, and other shows aren't enough, get ready for Beyond.

According to Aint It Cool News, FOX has ordered 13 episodes of the series. It's about a big meteor coming to Earth, carrying a deadly virus, and the efforts to stop it. Jeez, as if a meteor wasn't enough to worry about, the damn thing has to be carrying a virus too? The show will star Seth Gable, Rachel Perry, and Merrin Dungey from Alias.

The best part of the story is the various comments from Ain't It Cool readers. Some of the entertaining subject lines of the comments include "Why FOX Why" and "Armageddon meets Outbreak" and "For Christ's Spellcheck. Is it that hard?" Ha!